美国小学英语教材5:第170课 为朋友而勇敢(11)

Paul cut short his protests by buttoning his collar tightly about his throat and testing the laces of his shoes.

保罗把衣领紧紧地扣在喉咙上，并试了试鞋带，以此结束了他的抗议。

“I’m going,” he stated stubbornly; “and the sooner I get off, the better.”

“我这就去了，”他顽固地说道；“我越快下去越好。”

SKIING FOR HELP

滑下去寻求帮助

And go he did, with a curt¹ farewell which astonished his companion. Back of the cabin, poised² at the top of the slope, with the snow whirling around him, he had one horrible moment when he was on the point of turning back. But with a tremendous effort he fought down that feeling. He could not bear the thought of facing Bill as a coward and a quitter. An instant later a thrust of his staff sent him over the edge, to glide³ downward through the trees with swiftly increasing speed.

他走了，简短地说了声再见，使他的同伴吃了一惊。在小屋后面，雪在他周围旋转，他在斜坡顶上保持平衡，正要转身，他突然感觉很害怕。但他付出了巨大的努力，才抑制住了这种感觉。一想到要把比尔看作懦夫，他就受不了。不一会儿，他的手杖一戳，他就滑下了悬崖，以越来越快的速度滑下了树林。

Strangely enough, he felt that the worst was over. After he had successfully steered⁴ through the first hundred feet or so of woods, growing confidence in himself helped to strengthen his courage. After all, except for the blinding snow, this hill was no worse than some of the wooded slopes back there at home in Canada.

奇怪的是，他觉得最糟糕的时期已经过去了。当他成功地驾驶着船穿过一百英尺左右的树林后，他对自己越来越有信心，这增强了他的勇气。毕竟，除了炫目的大雪，这座山并不比加拿大境内的一些树木繁茂的山坡差多少。

At first he managed, by a skillful use of his staff, to hold himself back a little and keep his speed within a reasonable limit. But just before he left the woods, a sudden side-turn to avoid a clump⁵ of trees nearly flung him off his balance. In struggling to recover it, the end of his staff struck against another tree and was torn instantly from his grasp. There was no stopping now. A moment later he flashed out into the open and shot down the steep incline.

起初，他巧妙地使用了工具，使自己稍稍放慢了速度，使速度保持在合理的限度内。但就在他离开树林之前，为了避开一丛树木，他突然侧身一转，差点失去平衡。在挣扎着要把它找回来的时候，他的杖头撞到了另一棵树上，立刻就被他从手里扯了下来。现在停不下来了。过了一会儿，他闪到空地上，从陡峭的斜坡上冲了下来。

1 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

2 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

3 glide   

n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝

参考例句：

• We stood in silence watching the snake glide effortlessly.我们噤若寒蝉地站着，眼看那条蛇逍遥自在地游来游去。
• So graceful was the ballerina that she just seemed to glide.那芭蕾舞女演员翩跹起舞，宛如滑翔。

4 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。